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Federal agents seized a cellphone belonging to a prominent Republican senator on Wednesday night as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into controversial stock trades he made as the coronavirus first struck the U.S., a law enforcement official said.
Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, turned over his phone to agents after they served a search warrant on the lawmaker at his residence in the Washington area, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a law enforcement action.
The seizure represents a significant escalation in the investigation into whether Burr violated a law preventing members of Congress from trading on insider information they have gleaned from their official work.
Burr sold a significant percentage of his stock portfolio in 33 different transactions on Feb. 13, just as his committee was receiving daily coronavirus briefings and a week before the stock market declined sharply. Much of the stock was invested in businesses that in subsequent weeks were hit hard by the plunging market.
Burr and other senators received briefings from U.S. public health officials before the stock sales.
Spokespeople for the FBI and the Justice Department did not return phone messages seeking comment. A spokeswoman for Burr did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Burr’s selloff—which was publicly disclosed in ranges – amounted to between $628,000 and $1.72 million. The stock trades were first reported by ProPublica.
Sen. Richard Burr’s attorney declines comment on Los Angeles Times report that the FBI served a warrant on his Washington, D.C. home.
Sen. Richard Burr's attorney has declined to comment on a Los Angeles Times report that the senator was served a search warrant at his Washington, D.C., home in regards to the investigation into stock sales he made at the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
For the Justice Department--especially this politicized Justice Department, which is serving the needs of the president over those of Americans has become the norm--to seize Burr's phone is very telling about how they view his insider trading activity. This is going to be very interesting to watch this play out. Burr isn't on the ballot this year, but perceptions about him no doubt are going to affect some people's feelings about they will vote come November.
Good that they are investigating and good that he stepped down from chairing the committee. I guess since he said he wouldn’t run again, he was going to feather his nest with insider information.
Whether or not his sale of stock was legal, the optics (and ethics) are terrible. I have no doubt that the fact he's not running for re-election made him think he was safer from blowback... wrong!
For the Justice Department--especially this politicized Justice Department, which is serving the needs of the president over those of Americans has become the norm--to seize Burr's phone is very telling about how they view his insider trading activity. This is going to be very interesting to watch this play out. Burr isn't on the ballot this year, but perceptions about him no doubt are going to affect some people's feelings about they will vote come November.
You might be too optimistic. DOJ is going after Burr as a result his role in the Senate Intel committee’s report on Russia interference in 2016. He make the Dotard angry!
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